1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to wireless communication and more particularly to a communications unit, system and methods for providing multiple access to a wireless transceiver and/or transceivers.
2. Description of Related Art
There has been a rapid proliferation of wireless telephone usage in recent years. Many wireless telephone service providers are offering wireless telephone services at rates less than conventional land line services. Many people have wireless telephones and find themselves paying for both land line and wireless telephone services when they only need one or the other service, to gain access to the public switched telephone network.
While it is possible to simply do away with a conventional land line and substitute a single wireless telephone, many homes and offices have more than one wireless and/or conventional landline telephone. However, multiple users access to a single wireless handset is not readily facilitated by conventional systems. Wireless telephones or handsets are generally not designed to be used as a shared resource. Consequently, usually, only a single wireless telephone has access to subscribed wireless telephone services.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,775,997, discloses a standard telephone connected to an interface system and a wireless transceiver to permit a standard telephone to make a wireless telephone call. Communication between the standard telephone lines however, appears to be facilitated by a Key System Unit, which requires additional equipment and presents additional complexity and cost. Additionally communication between the separate telephone lines is not facilitated.
What would be desirable therefore is a way of making a wireless handset a shared resource and a way of modularly expanding the number of communications appliances which have access to a wireless transceiver or a plurality of wireless transceivers.